Pheasant Branch & Marshall Park

The Boardwalk in Pheasant Branch Conservancy

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Today we revisited one of our favored spots—the boardwalk at Pheasant Branch Conservancy in Middleton; and we explored a new one—the nearby Marshall Park in Madison.

In an earlier post we described the Pheasant Branch Trail originating at Century Avenue and extending westward through Middleton. That trail is the "tail" so to speak of the "kite" of Pheasant Branch Conservancy proper, which lies north of Century Avenue. The main trail system in the Conservancy is a 3.3 mile loop surrounding a core wetland. Our preferred access to the trail loop is the entrance to a boardwalk at the end of Marina Drive off Century Avenue. There is easy street parking; and the boardwalk provides a dry, level, and comfortable walk. Our round trip today was about 0.4 miles taking us through a mixed woodland that stands in slightly marshy conditions.

The boardwalk starts with a bridge over a gully. About 120 feet further the trail intersects with the main loop. Here we turned east. Facing the morning sun about an hour after sunrise, we kept up a quick pace to our destination—the bridge across Pheasant Branch Creek—so we could have a leisurely walk back with the sun behind us. We lingered at the bridge to explore the canopies of the trees in the more open area around the creek. There was a lot of furtive activity but not anything we could recognize apart from common birds. We could hear the calls of Sandhill Cranes coming from the marsh to our north, and a pair passed overhead.

Looking North from the Pheasant Branch Creek Bridge

We moved on to nearby Marshall Park off Allen Blvd. on the southwest shore of Lake Mendota just across the city limit in Madison. The park has a boat launch, beach, and wooded area. Accessibility is very good. The walk is about 200 feet along a paved path/service road from the parking lot to the beach.


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Many Madisonians may not know that a Holocaust Memorial provided by a private donor was dedicated here in 1998. Overlooking the lake in a simple, meditative setting, the monument consists of two stone benches facing an inscribed boulder.

Detail of the Holocaust Memorial at Marshall Park

We thought we might find more water birds but had to be satisfied with a Common Loon and a pair of Pied-billed Grebes. In the shrubbery near the beach we saw one or more flycatchers. There is a concrete bathhouse by the beach that has an observation deck reached by stairs as well as a ramp. Hemmed in by foliage, it only provides a tunnel view of the lake. We did see a Northern Waterthrush scurry along the muddy shoreline below us. We followed a path along the shoreline into a deciduous woods for a few hundred feet. Not much of the lake was visible, though it appeared that the nimble could find a way down the embankment. The path opened into a clearing that was adjacent to private property, so we turned back, being a little uncomfortable pointing cameras and binoculars.

Northern Waterthrush, MPK, 23 September 2012, 9:36 AM

Northern Waterthrush, MPK,
23 September 2012, 9:36 AM